Medical abortion drugs are also accessed through providers in informal settings or on the Internet. Local and international women’s groups and NGOs also disseminate information on medical abortion through the Internet, printed materials and hotlines that provide instructions on how to self-perform a medical abortion. “Women on web”, an international digital community, provides on-line medical abortion services in different languages to women living in countries where there are no safe abortion services. Activism became institutionalized and the feminist movement grew in various directions. As the 90s came to a close, what started out as a spontaneous social movement with radical ideas about patriarchy, militarism, and democratization found its way into the halls of institutions and organizations that stifled feminist activism. The institutionalization of feminism was so profound that its political promise seemed lost.
- Despite this difficult panorama, I am confident we can reverse this scenario just as we were doing before the pandemic, when countries in the region were making significant progress in narrowing stubborn gender gaps.
- Many women, but particularly those who undergo the process with no counseling or supervision, have emotionally draining experiences marked by fear of negative consequences, anxiety and concern.
- To support a research and advocacy project to document and educate appropriate sectors about the socioeconomic status of Latinas in Chicago.
- “To believe in our potential as women is important and urgent in order to transform our society,’’ states Segura and this will be possible in countries that guarantee frameworks that protect women in various spheres, including in the working environment.
- Women who have legal medical abortions in a medically controlled setting are less concerned about bleeding.
- Their ideas for social change were molded into general claims about access to education and transformation of laboring material conditions.
Latin Women’s Initiative has blossomed into one of Houston’s top Hispanic fundraising organizations that provides financial donations and volunteers to nonprofits that primarily assist Hispanic women and children. Since its inception, Latin Women’s Initiative has donated over $2 million to local nonprofit organizations, making a significant difference in the lives of thousands. The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice is endeavoring to comply with all applicable laws and regulations to the best of its understanding and ability, including the changes to Texas law made effective September 1, 2021. Nothing in this communication is intended to encourage, assist, aid, or abet any violation of those changes or any other law.
In fact, a2009 studylooking at sexual health factors in teens by race and ethnicity shows that the female rate of teenage intercourse for Latinas and non-Latina whites are identical, with 45% of teen girls from both racial/ethnic groups reporting having had sex. Although feminists regularly cite the gender wage gap as a scourge holding back women in the workplace, in fact for Latinas, the gap is much worse. According to some estimates, Latinas earnjust 55 centsfor every dollar earned by non-Hispanic white men. Furthermore, the share of Latina women earning at or below minimum wage is actually increasing, tripling from 2007 to 2012, and contributing to an overall poverty rate of 27.9% —close to three timesthat of non-Latina white women. Only 27% of Latinas say a senior co-worker advocated for a raise for them, and Latinas are significantly less likely than white women to say their manager shows interest in their career development, Lean In and McKinsey & Co. report. BMethotrexate has also been used in combination with misoprostol as a medical method for early abortion in some countries where mifepristone is not available. However, a WHO toxicology panel recommended against the use of methotrexate for inducing abortion, based on concerns of teratogenicity if the method fails and the pregnancy is not interrupted.
‘An open dialogue about pay can make a huge difference’
Some women seek medical care shortly after bleeding starts, either because they are afraid that something bad will happen to them, or because they were told to do so by the person who instructed them on how to use the medication. In many Latin American countries pharmacies are widely used as a source of medical advice, especially by lower income populations, and women have traditionally resorted to pharmacies in search for drugs to bring on menstruation when they have a delayed menstrual period. Misoprostol is purchased at retail pharmacies either as the entire package or by the pill, usually without prescription despite the fact that government regulations require sale under prescription[11, 20–22, 34]. Pharmacy staff often recommend misoprostol for pregnancy termination but their knowledge about dosage, route of administration, side effects complications and effectiveness is often poor in quality. In these cases, we only selected the information which could shed light on the experience of undergoing a medical abortion.
This report summarizes the profiles, needs and challenges of women entrepreneurs in STEM in Latin America and the Caribbean region. Since the release of IDBs WeGrow 2013, LAC has been witnessing a significant improvement in high-impact women entrepreneurship, with more women entrepreneurs creating and growing companies in STEM areas.
Table A-3. Employment status of the Hispanic or Latino population by sex and age
The letters collected here date from the 4th to the 13th centuries, and they are presented in their original Latin as well as in English translation. The letters are organized by the name and biography of the women writers or recipients. Biographical sketches of the women, descriptions of the subject matter of the letters, and the historical context of the correspondence are included where available. Sandra López Vergès is a Panamanian biochemist with a Ph.D. in Microbiology speciality Virology.
Only a minority of studies include women who completed the MA process alone, without preabortion counseling and/or postabortion care. Adolescent women are underrepresented in the available studies and the experience of those under age 15 is completely absent. We know nothing about women who had failed medical abortions and continued on with their pregnancy, and very little about those who had a legal abortion within the health care system or those who received misoprostol for postabortion care. In addition, most literature comes from large urban settings, and few studies include rural or indigenous women. More and updated scientific evidence on medical abortion in Latin American is needed in order for researchers, activists, policy makers and health care providers to have a better and more comprehensive understanding of its impact on women’s lives and health. The idea that class is a key dimension of women’s lives is one that is rooted in Latin American feminist activisms of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As previously noted in Section 1 , women’s fights for equality of this time were framed in terms of equitable access to social goods (e.g., education).
In several Latin American countries medical abortion has enabled the implementation of harm reduction policies. Based on the right to health, autonomy, confidentiality and information, health professionals provide women with unwanted pregnancies pre-abortion counseling including information on how to self-induce a medical abortion, and postabortion care. Medication is not provided since it would be against the law, women have to obtain it by their own means. Medical abortion has radically changed abortion practices worldwide, and particularly in legally restricted contexts. Women can now access a non-invasive, safe and effective method, which is more affordable than surgical methods and does not require third party participation in the procedure. In Latin America women have been using misoprostol for self-induced home abortions for over two decades.
Giving women equal opportunities to develop and thrive in STEM careers helps reduce the gender wage gap, improves women’s economic security, ensures a diverse and talented workforce, and avoids bias in these fields and in the products and services produced. Some of the highest earning STEM occupations, such as computer science and engineering, have the lowest percentages of women workers. To foster sustainable development, drive innovation, social welfare and inclusive growth we need more women in STEM. In Argentina last year there were 251 recorded femicides — the killing of women for being women — according to official figures. In “Witches,” published in August by Catapult, the Mexican author Brenda Lozano used the space between the real and unreal to explore “different levels” of violence against women — from expectations about gender roles to abuse and femicide.
The safety of a clandestine procedure depends on the conditions under which it is performed which are primarily determined by the woman’s socioeconomic status. Women living in meet latin women vulnerable social conditions who cannot afford safe clandestine abortions often turn to risky methods like the insertion of foreign bodies into the uterus, drinking toxic solutions, or procedures performed by unskilled providers. Social and cultural beliefs against abortion as well as stigma are other barriers to safe abortion that make women turn to unsafe methods. In addition, fear of ill treatment and legal reprisals might prevent women from seeking prompt medical care after an abortion. This article summarizes the findings of a literature review on women’s experiences with medical abortion in Latin American countries where voluntary abortion is illegal.
